Following the installation of initial wind turbines recently, the company has started exporting the power to the national grid.
The offshore wind farm is located 7km from Liverpool Bay in the Irish Sea.
Burbo Bank Extension Programme director Claus Bøjle Møller said: “First power is a key milestone for us because it proves that every part of the transmission and generation equipment is successfully working.
“We’re progressing well with the construction of the wind farm thanks to a huge effort from our construction team and our contractors.
The Burbo Bank Extension farm features the MHI Vestas 8MW wind turbines.
Møller added: “Using these bigger turbines is a major step in reducing the cost of energy from offshore wind, and we are proud to once again introduce a step-change in technology.”
According to Dong Energy, the wind farm will have a capacity of generating up to 258MW electricity once all 32 turbines are installed, which is likely to be completed during the first quarter of next year.
The power generation from the offshore wind farm is said to be enough to cover the annual electricity demands of around 230,000 homes in the UK.
While Dong Energy has 50% of the stake in the offshore wind farm, Pensionskassernes Administration (PKA) and Kirkbi have 25% stake each.
Dong Energy would take its tally of live offshore wind farms to 18, with 11 of them in the UK, once the Burbo Bank Extension is commissioned as expected, in the first half of 2018.
Image: Dong Energy’s Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm. Photo: courtesy of Dong Energy A/S.
